The Great Church Hunt, Parts 2 and 3

I'll have to lump Part 2 and Part 3 together, but it's ok because it's the same church.

When we were searching for churches while still in California, this one was the second of two that we really wanted to try.

Our first Sunday there was so much better than the first church we tried. The people were very friendly, and the Children's Church was in a different building and totally kid-approved. The check in for both the kids and the nursery was a little unorganized and took forever, though.

We enjoyed the music (even if it did get a little 7-11* once in a while), but soon it started to go downhill for me. Not very fast downhill, but downhill. A lot of it is petty, and I'm not sure that I want to even type it out. Ok, I will. I do not like when the Pastor and his wife sit/stand/worship on the platform/stage. I think it's tacky, and self-serving. Top that with a Pastor that doesn't really worship and a wife that doesn't either, and it goes beyond tacky. Now I know what some of you are thinking. You're wondering how I know what they were doing if I was worshipping. :-). Well, you see, well, you got me. But they were such an eye-sore. Like a train-wreck from which you couldn't peel your eyes!

Then came announcements, two different offerings, two special songs, and before you knew it, it was noon and he was just beginning to preach (church started at 10:30). I know this happens sometimes, and he was apologizing profusely for the time. The sermon was great, but I just wish he'd had the whole hour or more to preach it instead of rushing through it.

Luke was crying when we picked him up (surprise, surprise), and Blake made like 5 friends (surprise, surprise). We enjoyed it enough to give it another shot.

Yesterday, we tried it again. The timing was much smoother than before, and the songs were not as 7-11'y as before which was nice. Jerry doesn't like his preaching style; I think I could get used to it. We don't like how the nursery pretends to be secured (with a locked door and only one way in and out), but really isn't, because when the door is opened people just run in before it closes, throwing their pagers on the counter. There aren't nearly enough workers for the amount of children or the space (the check in counter typically has nobody working it, allowing all the said people to run through the open door).

I still can't get over the Pastor and his wife being up there during worship. I just don't like it.

We're going to pray about it. I feel like I'm being overly critical about the church, and I probably am, but at the same time I really don't feel like this church is where we belong.

So...The Great Church Hunt continues...



*7 words 11 times,
meaning the same verse or chorus is sung
over and over and over and over again